Unintended Consequences - By Stuart Woods

45





The van pulled into another garage, and the door closed behind it. Stone could see armed guards inspecting them.

“You’ve been here before,” Lance said, getting out and leading the way to the elevator.

“Yes,” Stone replied.

The elevator stopped on the top floor, and they stepped into a broad hallway. Unlike Stone’s previous visit, when the building had seemed practically empty, it now teemed with life. He followed Lance down the hallway to Holly’s large office at the end.

Holly got up from a group at her conference table, kissed Stone on the cheek, and shook Lance’s and Rick’s hands. “Please have a seat,” she said.

Everybody sat, and a coffeepot was passed around.

“Everybody, please excuse me,” Lance said, “while I bring Stone up to date.” He turned toward Stone. “Now that we have in place the necessary changes to our charter, we are conducting our first operation against a criminal enterprise, in New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles. Rick is here to coordinate with the three teams.

“Yuri Majorov, whom you have sort of met, has been identified as the leader of this group, at least outside of Moscow, and he is charged with both finding legitimate businesses and taking them over on terms very favorable to his group, which, as you know, we are calling SQUID. It’s not an acronym, so don’t waste time trying to figure out what it means. The squid overpowers large prey in its tentacles, then uses its very sharp beak to kill it, so the name is not inappropriate, given their tactics.

“Having been rebuffed in Aldo’s meeting with Bill Eggers, they identified you as the key player in the Arrington business, since you, together with your son’s trust, are the largest shareholder. They reason that, with you taken out of the picture, the board members would become rattled, fearful of their personal safety, and thus more inclined to accept an offer, albeit a very lowball one. We have learned that they are now preparing to take further steps, after they have dispatched you.

“In short, there will be, if their plan is successful, a significant ‘accident’ at the hotel, one big enough to frighten the paying guests and shake the board’s confidence. Our Los Angeles station is alert to that possibility and working hard to see that it does not take place.”

“So, Lance,” Stone said, “what do you want me to do?”

“We want you to stay alive,” Lance replied.

“I assure you, that is uppermost in my mind.”

“Yes, but thus far, your attention has been redirected to protecting Marcel, who, as it turns out, is in danger only to the extent of his proximity to you.”

“Do you want me to move him out of my house, then?”

“No, we have sufficiently fortified your residence, as recent events have shown, that we are happy for him to remain there.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“We’d like you to move about separately, for you to give him and/or Helga the free use of the Bentley and for you to rely on our van for personal transportation.”

Stone shrugged. “All right, I don’t object to that.”

“We would like for you to be armed at all times, as well.”

“I am armed,” Stone replied.

“Please remain so. The driver of the van and one other man aboard will be heavily armed and prepared to deal with any attack.”

“Oh, good.”

“Stone, I would appreciate it if you would take this seriously.”

“I assure you, I do,” Stone said. “Anything to do with the preservation of my life will have my full attention.”

“We think it best that you do not attend the opening of the auto show,” Lance said.

“I was looking for a way out of that, anyway. I’ve already been to the Paris show, and they’ll have, mostly, the same cars.”

“Now, let me try to be delicate,” Lance said.

“Please do.”

“While we wish you to be at all times concerned for your safety, we also wish . . .” He seemed to struggle for the word.

“You want me to be the bait to draw out the Russians?”

“Well, yes. I would not have employed that word, but it will suffice. We would like you to maintain your movements around town, dinners out and such, and not just hole up in your house.”

“All right,” Stone said cautiously.

“And we are prepared to provide you with nearly unnoticeable body armor—the very latest thing, as it were. We have your size in stock.”

“How much body armor?”

“Upper and lower body.”

“So you’re as much worried about my balls as my internal organs?”

“As it were,” Lance said primly.

“All right, I’ll give it a try.”

“Good,” Lance said. “I’m glad we’re all on the same page.”

“Please remember, Lance, that pages turn.”

When the meeting broke up Holly pulled him aside. “How are you, Stone?”

“You mean, without your company?”

“No, I meant how are you?”

“I’m sorry, that was churlish of me, but Lance always has a grating effect.”

“I’m well acquainted with that characteristic, and I’m happy to be based in New York, instead of at Langley.”

“Straight answer: I’m annoyed, but otherwise fine. I look forward to the end of this episode and to being alive to see it.”

“We’ve pulled out all the stops on this one,” Holly said. “You probably won’t see the other people involved, as they’ll hang back a bit.”

“Waiting for the Russians to go for the bait?”

“I’m afraid so. We want to bag every single one of them. What Lance didn’t say is, if they take you out, Marcel duBois will be next. They’ll use your death to cow him into letting them into his business empire.”

Stone nodded.

“We’re doing everything we can, but you have to take care of yourself, too.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Stone kissed her and walked to the elevator. The big van was waiting with its door open and an athletic young man with no hair standing next to it, looking for enemies in his own garage.

Stone sighed and got in.